


Sweet Creature

by amorkaisoo



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Aphrodisiacs, Attempt at Humor, Challenge Response, Demon Kim Jongin | Kai, Demons, Devils, Flirty Do Kyungsoo | D.O, Flirty Kim Jongin | Kai, Hell, I Tried, I'm Going to Hell, M/M, My First Smut, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Please Don't Hate Me, Seven Deadly Sins, Smut, Strangers to Lovers, Underworld
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 12:16:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29609295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amorkaisoo/pseuds/amorkaisoo
Summary: Kai, a Sin Collector of the underworld, never thought he'd have to fight his way just to get another stripe on his neck. All thanks to that feisty pretty stranger who gave him the worst blue-ball case in the whole universe.
Relationships: Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Kim Jongin | Kai
Comments: 35
Kudos: 71





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!! It's been a while! You've read the tags, right? Hehehe surprise!! I hope you guys have a good time reading this!
> 
> I'd like to thank [At1stsoo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/at1stsoo/pseuds/at1stsoo) & [lovelyairi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovelyairi/pseuds/lovelyairi) for proof-reading this chapter! Both of you are the sweetest! <3

“ _I know you’re cheating on me._.” Kai whispers next to the angry mortal’s ear as he placed his hands on top of her shaking ones.

“I know you’re cheating on me _!”_ the lady spats furiously _._

_“_ You’re being ridiculous _!”_ her partner shouts in disbelief.

“ _Stop being a coward and tell me—_ “ The devil continues feeding the human more fuel to her anger, moving her hand slowly “—how good of a fuck was she?! _”_ she said, half-consciously grabbing the ceramic mug on the coffee table and throwing it towards the other human in the room. The cup hits the wall and breaks into tiny little pieces. The devil snickers as he sits back, fixing the collar of his orange jumpsuit, as he enjoys the chaos he just made.

Wrath is such a fun sin to play with.

It doesn’t take long until the human emits crimson vapor from her body, clouding the room with _Sin Fumes_ that are only visible to the devil’s eyes. Kai inhales it all, trapping the scent of victory in his lungs. He has followed this married couple for weeks, putting seeds of doubt and distrust inside their heads. He’s pleased that he can finally yield the sweet result now.

Several broken pieces of furniture later, the lady storms out of the room bringing the fumes with her. Kai is too lazy to follow her around, he already collected enough of sin anyways. So he stands up, cracking his tired neck, and snaps his finger to vanish. Leaving the clueless, devastated man in the room alone.

*****

Kai is a devil, more specifically, a Sin Collector. His role is to collect fumes from humans or hell-beings which will be used to make weapons, feed the hell beasts, and everything else that sustains the underworld. Basically, sin is their energy and currency.

Living in hell as a devil is pretty much the same as living on earth as a human. Hierarchy, expectations, and responsibilities still exist. The only difference is everything is a couple of degrees hotter in here.

Kai laughs every time he listens to humans complaining about how they’d rather die than be a company’s puppet. Wait until they know how it feels like being Satan’s slave for eternity.

The tall devil re-appears in front of the underworld’s busiest place: The Misdeed Bank. The sky is tinted dark green, complementing the grimy walls of the building. Soft wind blowing, cold and eerie.

This place is always packed. New humans who are rejected from the heavens will be sent to the bank first, getting their sin points checked before getting judged and sorted to whatever punishment they deserve. The Tellers are busy counting deeds while Trolls scattered around the room, scaring the newly-dead to feed off their fear fumes.

And of course, devils would go in and out to transfer their collected sins, exchanging them for coins to purchase whatever they want.

Walking into a separate area on the right, he enters a place with a huge “Transfer Station” sign and queues in one of the booths. It’s still 5 pm hell-time so it’s not too crowded yet.

“Next!” he hears the teller call.

Stepping forward, a familiar devilish smile greets him.

“Early as always.” Chen the Teller says. Kai turns his face to show him the three glowing blue stripes behind his nape. Chen puts one of his palms up, facing Kai’s mark as the other hand swipes the table in front of him. A paper scroll floats and opens up showing all of the devil’s records.

“Yeah, you know me” Kai chuckles, now stepping closer to a human-sized measuring cylinder beside the teller, grabbing the transparent pipe connected to it. He inhales deeply before putting the pipe on his mouth, then exhales. A crimson fume flows out of his mouth, slowly filling the huge tube. Chen looks expectant, he waits until the devil has no more fumes to blow out. ¾ of the tube is full.

Chen smiles softly, looking impressed but not surprised. He writes down the result on Kai’s scroll.

“200 points for Sloth, 310 points for Envy, and 230 for Wrath.. that will be equal to 740 coins, do you wanna cash it out or save it?” the red-suited man says, voice calm, eyes still focus on the scroll.

“Cash it all.”

Chen snaps his fingers and the scroll automatically rolls closed and floats back to its place. The teller opens a drawer beside him and grabs a handful of bronze coins, pushing it towards Kai. 

Just before the devil puts his hands on it, the teller speaks up once again.

“So are you finally going to try out this year?”

“Huh?” Kai raises his eyebrows in confusion.

“Well, based on your reports, all the tricks you pulled are pretty good. It actually looks like you’re capable of drawing _bigger_ sins. But I’ve been here for 100 years and you’re still a third-grade sin collector. I’m just curious why you’ve never tried to level up,” Kai is surprised by the compliment. They never chat _casually_ like this before. He gave the other a weird look but proceeded to put the coins into his pocket.

“The Annual Underworld Exam is coming up. You could give it a go, add more stripes to your neck and earn more respect, you know,” the teller continues.

After a beat of silence Kai replies, “Nah, I’m good. See ya.”

He can still hear a tired sigh from the teller before he calls forward another collector.

*****

Dingy neon lights and a loud thump of bass invade the devil’s senses. Pure Bliss is the best club to spend coins on after a tough day of work. Great booze, great entertainers, great place. He usually enjoys getting drunk and having a good time here.

But tonight, everything feels a bit off. He can’t stop thinking about the comment from the teller. He chugs on his drink and lets the liquid seep into his system. His eyes scan the room filled with faint blue fumes. Lust is in the air, he should be having fun, but his mind is not feeling it.

Hunched over on the bar stools, Kai rubs the glowing mark on his neck. He knows he doesn’t need more stripes. He’s pretty comfortable with the way things are. So… why is he considering it? _Does he want more stripes?_

The stripes on their necks are the symbol of their social grades. One stripe for low-beings such as slaves and trolls, two stripes for gate-keepers and prison guards, three stripes for Entertainers and Sin Collectors, four stripes for councils’ workers such as juror and inspector, and lastly five stripes for blue-bloods of the underworld, which are usually reserved for descendants of the hell royalties.

The Annual Underworld Exam is where the hell-beings can have a chance to earn more stripes and be promoted to work in higher departments. Of course, you can’t be a part of the royalties unless you’re bound to one, but this is a chance for hell gate-keepers to get a less boring job, a chance for tellers to become someone's ruler, a chance for sin collectors to work as a part of the councils. And yes, with the position comes great power and hell-beings _crave_ power.

Also, by leveling up, you get to enjoy the best life a sinner could ever ask for. There are things that only certain grades can enjoy, like the club he is in right now is exclusive for 3 stripes and up.

As he rubs his nape, he keeps thinking about the words from the teller _.. “You’re pretty good..”_ _“You’re capable..”_

It’s very unusual to throw compliments in hell, let alone receive one. There are only three reasons someone would compliment others. It’s either because they fear them, because they want to bang them, or because it’s a backhanded compliment. No in-between. But the comment that Chen made was.. oddly sincere and full of hope.

Kai never considered himself a super-skilled devil or whatsoever. He only works enough to get paid enough, so he can live his demon life well enough. No ambition to climb on the hierarchy ladder and be ‘better’. Things will be decent if you just stick with the common rules. So he’s not sure why suddenly the positive comment gets to him... it’s annoying. He pulls his collar high to cover his neck and rubs his face in frustration. 

“Rough day?” a smooth voice greets him, sending a shiver down Kai’s spine.

He lifts his face and feels like he’s being graced by the demons.

The other’s round eyes and thick dark eyebrows are the first things he notices. Then his vision goes to his jet black hair, curled on top and shaved on the side. Lastly, like seeing the highlight of a painting, his eyes zero to the pink lips that are as plump as a cherry. This is the prettiest hell-being he’s ever laid eyes on. He fixes his posture and sits confidently.

“Nothing that I can’t handle, of course,” he replies to the other’s previous question.

“So why the long face?” the pretty man says, putting one arm on the bar table, leaning to his palm like a cute kitten. He’s wearing a sophisticated looking black turtleneck, with a casual black suit to compliment it. Everyone in this club dresses well, but this guy… This guy is on another level of exquisiteness. An entertainer, perhaps?

“Why do you wanna know?” Kai asks softly as he props his hand up to mimic the other’s gesture. He smiles teasingly then wet his bottom lips with his tongue. He catches the way the stranger’s eyes dips down quickly before going back to his eyes, “You wanna make me feel better?”

“Thought you needed company. Or maybe a pep talk? I’m good at that,” the stranger playfully shrugs. He swirls the cocktails in his hand as his eyes flirt back to Kai’s face.

“Hmmm,” Kai hums appreciatively, “What else are you good at?” he asks while shamelessly staring at the other’s plush lips. _Good heavens… he wants him so bad._

The shorter takes Kai’s hand and pulls him to the dance floor. As they sway together slowly to the sensual beat, Kai rests his arm on the other’s hips, pulling him closer. _So soft and beautiful_. In this proximity, Kai can smell how sweet the man’s scent is. _Sandalwood._

“I’m really good at making others feel good..” he answered the previous question with a whisper.. faint blue fumes start to flow between them.

“Is that so?” he asks playfully again, the other nods slowly.

Kai leans closer, and as the tip of his nose brushes to the stranger’s ears he whispers “Can I be the judge of that?”

The smaller male smiles confidently, a faint blush covers his pretty cheeks. He turns head to face Kai, and their noses bump softly.

“Only if you can keep up,” he challenges.

*****

There’s nothing pure about the way they kiss in the club’s VIP sin-room. It’s all wet and sloppy and Kai is getting weak on the knees. The stranger’s lips are nothing like he ever tasted before, and he’s tasted PLENTY of beings. From spicy devils to tangy ghosts, Kai has tasted everything. He even experimented with a ghoul once (and instantly regrets it).

So he was beyond surprised when his tongue got attacked with pure sweetness. And it’s dangerously addicting.

“God— _what_ are you..” Kai says in between kisses, he moves from the stranger’s lips to his jaw and continues his journey down as the other bares his neck. Pressing him harder against the door.

“How bad— how bad do you wanna know?” he replies breathlessly. Kai didn’t see it, but he knows the other is smiling. He licks a long stripe in the area under the man’s ear and whispers “.. _so_ bad.”

The smaller moans. He moves his hand to grip on Kai’s hair and pulls him back for a deep kiss. The heavy bass is still thumping through the wall, but both of them are deafened by the loud sound of their lips smacking.

Immediately after they take off the man’s jacket, Kai moves his right hand to grip on his waist, as the left holds on to his nape, guiding them to reach an even steamier state. Though he’s not an overachiever in his daily life, he loves to be in control in bed.

Getting impatient, he moves both of them closer to the bed and gently pushes the man to lay under him. But just as he was about to pull back to undress, the smaller one grabs him and rolls them over so he gets to straddle Kai instead. The devil scoffs in disbelief.

“You’re full of surprises, aren’t you?” he roams his hand to the other’s clothed chest, down to his waist, feeling the firmness of his curves.

The man gives a lop-sided smile in return and leans down to kiss him, both elbows placed next to Kai’s face. The devil wanted to ask for his name, but his thoughts got cut off when he felt the other’s hard bulge grinding on his. Both of their moans were muffled by another kiss.

Kai grabs on the other’s ass possessively, pressing it down harder on him. The other let out a needy whimper and it made Kai’s whole body tingling with arousal. It’s almost embarrassing how close Kai is to the end, and both of them are still fully dressed.

His head feels light from the intense blue fumes surrounding him and the sweetness of the stranger’s lips is intoxicating, but he can’t stop. He needs more.

He sits up and breaks the kiss to pull his jacket and shirt off, proudly showing off his defined chest and broad shoulders. Immediately he can feel small palms gripping his tanned skin. He grabs and pins them onto the bed. Kai kisses him like a hungry man.

“I’m gonna ruin you..” Kai says as he softly sucks and bites the other’s jaw “..and make sure you won’t forget about tonight.”

“I kind of doubt that, to be honest..” the pretty man replies playfully. “Judging by how you won’t let me take over, I have a feeling you’re just a desperate virgin.” And that makes both of them break into laughter and relax for a little bit.

“Darling, that’s because I’m not planning to make sweet love to you tonight..” Kai swipes his thumb on the other’s soft lips, happy that it’s plump and red now, “..we can save your soft stuff for next time” 

“ _Soft stuff_?” The other scoffs, sounding a little offended. The devil pushes the turtleneck up then he grunts, feeling blessed by the feast in front of him. An expanse of milky skin, ready to be marked. He dives down to lick at the hardening nipples, giving them a light suck. The stranger arches his back and holds Kai’s head, forcing it away from his chest.

“Do you think I’m not strong enough to wreck you myself?” the pale man asks, eyebrows raised in disbelief.

Kai almost replied with a quick yes, but he knows it will piss the pretty boy off. He doesn’t want this good opportunity to pass so he ignores the question and surges forward for another kiss to shut the other. But a grip on his hair holds him in place.

“Wait— do you actually think just because I’m small, I can’t be powerful?” This time the man asked with a firmer tone as if this is not the first time he encountered a situation like this.

Well.. Kai didn’t intend to make him feel offended. It’s just how things usually are. Big equals strong and small equals weak. Sure, this guy might not be fragile but… he doubts the shorter can satisfy both of them if he takes over. He thinks of a way to weasel out of the tiny argument.

“If I get to make you cum under 5 minutes..” Kai said as he carefully leans in to give a wet kiss on the other’s chest, hoping it will bring back the mood, “you’re going to tell me your name and your kind” that made the man loosen his grip, chuckles softly between moans. Kai smirks at the small win.

“Oh baby, you really don’t know whom you’re dealing with,” Kai tilts his head in confusion “..but sure. Now let me know, what happens if you don’t?”

Well, shit. Kai didn’t even think about that. He’s confident with his skills and he’s usually good at convincing people with his charms. But the question makes him doubt himself.

“If I don’t succeed, I’ll let you do whatever you want to me.”

The way the man’s eyes shone with delight tells Kai he gave him the right proposition.

“ _Whatever_ I want?” Kai nods in reply.

It didn’t take long before the stranger snapped his fingers once and suddenly a small golden hourglass popped up in the air.

“You better do your best, lover boy.” he said with a challenging smirk.

Kai doesn’t waste another second and undresses the other as quickly as possible. Once he’s naked, the devil trails down the body underneath him with love bites until he reaches the stranger’s length. He drags his tongue from the base up to the tip before pushing the whole thing down his throat.

He bops his head, giving it a hard suction now and then. The stranger’s moan gives him a boost of confidence. With the pace he’s going right now and how strong the other’s hand gripping his hair, he knows he will win this bet.

He uses his palm to tease the balls and his free hand to rub on the nipples, trying to give the stranger as much stimulation as possible. The shorter’s moan gets louder and deeper, arching his back, face flushed with a pretty blush. The sight made Kai feel more aroused. He’s leaking inside his pants but he needs to focus on pleasuring his partner if he wants to know his name.

Beads of sweat rolling down his temples as he looks up to the hourglass. He has approximately two minutes left and the feisty stranger has not cum yet. How could someone so compact be on this level of endurance?

“Ready to admit your defeat?” Kai heard the other say mid-moan, but he ignores it. He sucks on his own two fingers before teasing it to the man’s puckered rim. He pushes in with ease and rubs on the velvety walls, searching for his sweet spot. He’s thanking Lucifer for making all hell-beings self-lubricate.

His heart is pounding out of nervousness, he’s never felt so agitated. Kai has always been confident and unbothered, not the type to mind when he’s losing a challenge. But it seems like today the underworld is pushing him out of his comfort zones. He wants to win, he wants the other to beg for more and admit that Kai is worthy of his time. He wants this pretty man to submit and be _his_.

If he needs to indulge himself and be greedy, then so be it.

Kai loses his focus as he sees the sand on the hourglass thinning rapidly. But he feels optimistic when the stranger yelps as the tip of his finger finally nudges on his special soft gland. He pistons his curled fingers on the same spot as the tight heat squeezes it tighter and tighter. He smiles wickedly, feeling close to victory.

Just as he thought he could win, the hourglass pops and gold dust sprinkles around them. Kai pulls out his fingers as he feels the man’s body shake from laughter.

“Time’s up, sweetheart.” The other’s deep voice mocks him.

Kai was thinking of a smart way to reply, to compromise and lure the other to give him a second chance when suddenly he felt his body was raised and slammed with a strong force to the bed.

“I’ll show you how big boys do it”

A pair of warm palms travels from Kai’s sweaty naked chest to his arms, pushing them up above his head. Kai was still shocked by the strength used by the other man when he heard another finger snap. The smaller distracts him with a slow kiss when he felt his hands tied to the bedpost with a strong transparent thread.

“Wait—this is not fair, at least let me touch you!” the tanned male whines.

“You said I can do whatever I want, right?”

Kai wishes he could wipe the smug smile on the other’s lips, but three fingers were shoved inside his mouth when he’s about to protest.

“Suck.” The smaller commands him, voice even lower than before. Kai’s whole body shudders as he complies, lapping and sucking on the digits like an obedient puppy. 

As he pulls his fingers out, the other scoots back to give Kai a better view of what he’s about to do, plush butt still settles in between Kai’s thighs but far from the tanned male’s erection.

“Watch and learn.” He says before he spreads his legs, pushes the digits in, and works on himself, fast and hard.

Loud squelching noises mixing with lewd moans fill the room. The devil whimpers in frustration as the thread on his wrist is only getting tighter every time he pulls it.

It feels like an eternity. Kai wants to close his eyes because the visual stimulation is just too much, but he doesn't want to miss this view. The way the glassy round eyes stare back at him, the purple marks blooming on his collarbones, his leaking pale length with the pink tip turning into an angry red. The sweet sandalwood scent from the man’s perspiration thickens and his whole body trembles as he inhales it. Kai could cum just from this.

“If only you weren’t that c-cocky.. ahh—“ his eyebrows scrunch as he struggles to continue his sentence, “.. I might have let you feel how good I can be for you..”

“F-fuck.. touch me..” Kai whines, cock twitching and legs trembling with want. He’s losing his mind.

The stranger chuckles and pulls out his fingers. He turned around to grind his ample ass to Kai’s leaking erection and that’s when Kai sees it right on the center of his nape,

_Four glowing blue stripes._

_A fucking council member._

He whines, feeling foolish. No wonder the guy was offended earlier. He could break Kai’s bone with a snap of a finger if he wanted to.

The grinding on his cock feels so punishing. It’s too much but not enough. With his hands still tied, he starts to surrender.

“Is this _soft_ enough for you, darling?” the man cheekily mocks as he leans back, resting his smaller body on Kai’s broad chest, slotting his head on his shoulder. “Maybe you could fuck me like the big strong devil you are next time.. _If_ I let you,” he teases, hot breath ghosting under Kai’s jaw.

The sultry hell-being starts jerking himself off, letting the tanned male drool at the sinful sight. He turns his face to Kai and whimpers when he reaches his climax, pretty white ropes painting his pale chest. Kai trembles when he feels the fat lips kissing the side of his neck.

The guy stands up with shaky legs, taking the warmth with him. Kai is still shivering in shock, balls painfully tight, watching the other dress himself.

“Wh-what’s your name?” he asked with a dry throat. The man grins.

“You still wanna know?” The look on his face is telling Kai that he is genuinely amused.

“Hey, I gotta remember the guy who successfully gave me the worst blue-ball case ever,” he replies with a pained smile.

The guy cackles, now fully dressed, walking closer to the bed once again.

“Put another stripe on your pretty nape, and maybe I’ll let you know after that..”

He held Kai’s face with one hand before he kissed him deeply. Suddenly, Kai gasps when he feels a flow of liquid seep into his mouth, it's sweeter than what he tasted before with a little acidic kick to it. The man pulls off and Kai starts to feel dizzy, his arousal increased ten-fold. It's insane.

“Now come.” the man whispers and all Kai sees is blinding white light as he finally reaches his orgasm, untouched.

His vision blurs, only faint blue fumes surrounding him as he hears the door close and the thread on his wrists loosen.

_He should sign up for the underworld exam_ , he thinks with a smile before sleep takes him away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.. that was my first attempt at writing a smut scene. HEHE. Do you like the universe? Was it interesting? 
> 
> This has been in my drive since December because I got inspired by Kai's Devil photocard lol. I'm honestly scared to post this at first but I thought I better share this before I change my mind..


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I promised to update soon but I've been 'adulting' really hard lately, so I'm sorry!! I hope this update can bring you joy! :)

Pro tip if you want to survive living in the world above and under:

Never let your dick make a decision.

EVER.

After Kai showed his work reports and was deemed eligible, he signed his registration paper and got directed to go to the main arena where thousands of hell-beings gathered for the exam inauguration. He knew that it’s one of the most anticipated events of the underworld, but he never thought it’s this big of a deal since he never participated in it before. Seeing how eager everyone is, the exams might be a bit challenging. He internally groans. It’s too crowded and muggy. Why the hell did he think it’s a good idea to come here just for that one (particularly smoking hot) guy? Anyways, he plans to find him as soon as he got his new stripe. To boast about his achievement and make the cute man give in to him. For now, he better figures out where to sit in this stadium-like arena.

Different creatures with different stripes all settle to their places, and even though he can spot a few empty seats, Kai gives another minute to think about his best seating options.

_Should he sit next to the demon and his pet dragon on the upper left, or with the gloomy soul collector on the far right?_

His eyes scan further for more choices.

_Is that an empty spot between a sin collector and the troll? Maybe he could--_

“KAI!” he heard a familiar voice call him from far left. When he snaps his neck, 

  
A bright friendly smile greets him from afar, gesturing Kai to sit on the empty spot beside him. It’s Chen, the teller. Kai sighs. _Maybe it wouldn’t be too bad to sit with the guy_ , he thought.

“Never thought I’d see you here! What made you change your mind?” Chen excitedly asks as soon as Kai plops down.

“Got bored, thought I’d give it a go” he lies, hoping it will make the other shut up, but the silence didn’t last long.

“I’ve been wanting to become a 4-stripe accountant for a long time, it’s way more fun than working behind the counters, and it gives me a higher chance to someday work with the jurors. Have you decided what do you want to be upgraded to?”

_Why is this guy acting like they’re buddies?_ Kai is annoyed, but there’s no reason to reply to the other with heat either.

“uh.. well.. I’ll go with whatever they let me do, I guess. Just wanted to get another stripe.” Kai says truthfully.

He’s not even aware of how many positions are available for him to have. Ever since he was brought to the underworld, he has always been a sin collector. He has no recollection of how his life was before or when he started his career as a devil. It’s been hundreds of years anyways. He doesn’t care enough to try to remember.

The light of the arena dims down, signaling the event is about to start.

“Afternoon, hell-beings. Welcome to the Annual Underworld Exam Inauguration event,” a voice booms around the room “We all are gathered here today because of the mercy from our creators. It is only the right thing for us to return the kindness by dedicating ourselves and become the best tool for them to use.”

A lean figure stands with confidence on the circular stage right in the middle of the arena. He’s wearing an expensive-looking red suit with matching slacks, and a bright golden crown on top of his head. His bright voice echoes around the large room without the help of a mic.

“My name is Sehun, Son of Mammon – Prince of Greed, and I will be your host for this event.” He said with a mischievous grin.

Sehun briefly explains the importance of the exam. How they, as the royalties, always expecting the best hell-beings to maintain the balance of the universe. He bitterly mentioned how the heavens wouldn’t be so looked upon if hell doesn’t exist.

The host continues to tell them the basic rules of the exam. There will be 3 tests, and they have to pass everything to receive their new stripes. The first test will be a written test, the second would be a physical test, and the last one would be a live simulation test.

“We expect only the strongest, the smartest, and the greatest sinners to serve our mighty king. Which is why each year we select the best hell-beings to become the head inspectors for the exam,” sound of the drum starts to roll in the background, the Prince of Greed rubs his hand together before he continues

“Introducing to you, this year’s inspectors—Xiumin, 5 striper Mayor of the Frozen Hell, representing Pride!”

A floating golden stage comes in and circles the arena, allowing all the spectators to see the first inspector. The man looks intimidating, eyes as cold as an ice. The black tuxedo vests he’s wearing contrast with his pale skin. In the background, the host lists all of his achievements, his fortune, and his strengths. He smirks a little after hearing someone in the crowd gasps when the host mentioned his success. He puffs his chest and stands tall as the stage floats closer to the main one in the middle.

“Representing Envy, we have the 4-striper Entertainment’s Vice-Admiral, Lay!” the said inspector, also wearing black and golden jewelry, shoots the crowd a smug smile as his floating stage moves around the room. The host continues calling out the next inspectors.

“They’re the ones who are going to test us?” Kai whispers to Chen who nods immediately.

“They will be giving us points to pass. If we’re lucky they’d recruit us right away under their divisions.”

“And if we don’t pass?”

“Hmm.. the worse that could happen would be them reporting us as a disappointment to the jurors. They could take away our stripe if we really embarrass them. That’s why most people don’t want to take the risk and join the exam” Chen crosses his arms “One time, a dumb teller thought it was a smart move to make fun of the inspector after not passing a test, they downgraded him and curse him to laugh non-stop for 200 years”

The sin collector’s eyes widen and the teller immediately reassures him “But I doubt they would make you as a laughing machine, Kai. I know you’ll do well.”

There is it again, that damn sincere compliment.

Kai takes a deep breath and decides to change the subject “How come do all of the inspectors look so—”

“Ethereal?” Chen finishes with a lop-sided smile. They’re currently looking at the 6th inspector right now.

“That’s because most of them are either descendant of the 7 Kings of Hell or was blessed by the Demons themselves. Like Lay, even though he’s a 4 striper, I read that his mother slept with one of Leviathan’s grandchildren which is why he’s genetically better than most of us. But this lady right here,” Chen points at the current presented inspector “She used to be the messenger for Beelzebub’s son. Did a good job impressing the royalties, they grant her wish to earn the face of a goddess and a higher position”

“How’d you know all of this?”

“This is my 15th time trying out for this exam. I had to work my ass off in the library for the writing test every year..” Chen says with a chuckle

_It’s going to be that hard?_ Kai wants to ask him more questions including ‘how do I cancel my participation, but he was distracted by the host who’s about to introduce the last inspector

“and last but not least! Representing Lust, 4 striper Judicial Assistant, Kyungsoo!”

Kai squints his eyes, something is oddly familiar with this guy. He’s clad in an elegant black suit with golden details, exposing his glittery chest by ditching the shirt underneath. The man was smaller than the other inspectors, but his skin glows the brightest. He waves his hand as he circles the room, earning gasps from the crowds.

“Oh.. he’s here..” Chen explains, Kai can hear him smiling “one of the underworld’s most desired being. A treasure, you might say.. Kyungsoo is known not only because of his beauty and intelligence, but also because of his ancestry…”

The said man floats closer, and that’s when Kai can see his face clearly. 

“..he’s a fallen angel.” Chen finishes.

Kai’s mouth gapes as his eyes follows the celestial beauty in front of him.. _it’s the pretty stranger from the bar._

Kyungsoo grins sweetly to the audience, giving them the perfect mixture of sexiness and innocence. But when his eyes met with Kai’s, his smile drops a little. Eyes widen in surprise. It didn’t take long before his expression turns into amusement. He throws the devil a wink, and floats further. Kai felt his stomach drops to the floor. _He’s in big trouble._

\---

_Thud. Thud. Thud._

Kai knocks his head repeatedly to the wooden bookshelves.

_Why. Why. Why._

He mentally curses himself as Chen snickers beside him, hiding his face in the book he was supposed to read. Kai glares at him tiredly.

“I’m sorry, it’s just— it’s just stupid how you insult a high-rank 4-striper in bed”

“I told you I didn’t know!” Kai half-yells.

“Ssssssttt!!!” A ringing hissing voice was heard from somewhere far away. Effectively shutting them up. The snake-hybrid librarian hates it when people talk loudly in the building.

After the inauguration, Chen offers Kai to study together at the library since this is the devil’s first time joining the exam. Kai refused at first, telling the other that he’s planning to quit. After learning that they can’t back away registering, Kai finally understood what human means when they say ‘read the contract before you sign’.

They have 3 days to prepare themselves for the first test. Not wanting to embarrass himself even further, Kai thought he should study with Chen. They spend more time talking than studying and somehow, the conversation leads to Kai explaining the reason why he wanted to enter the exam in the first place. Chen couldn’t stop laughing ever since.

“But dude, he gave you a taste of his aphrodisiac. That’s like.. a super rare privilege from fallen angels. He must’ve found you attractive somehow.” The teller whispers as he wipes his tears.

“You think so?” Kai sits next to the other, props his elbows to the desk, and cups his face. His lips quirking into a small smile. _That doesn’t sound bad._

“Either that or he does it to quickly squeeze out every single horny fume left in your body and trade it with shit ton of coins.”

_Right._ Kai scoffs. _Of course._

Other than doing their main jobs, 4-stripers are allowed to suck on other hell-being fumes as well for extra coins. It’s a lot more challenging to collect, but their fume costs so much more than regular human fumes. It made it easier for 4-stripers to get rich quicker. They could just work on horny, angry, or sad demons, suck on their fumes, and _voila_ , more cash to spend. He chuckles and shakes his head in disbelief, remembering how smooth the guy was in the bar. Impressive.

“I don’t know jack-shit about this exam. They going to laugh at me and feed me to the hell-hounds.” Kai sighs before hitting his forehead to the desk.

_Thud. Thud. Thud._

“Nah, I doubt that,” Chen flips through another page, but then he pauses when he sees the other’s slumping figure. He puts down the book, and grips the other’s shoulders to make him face him.

“Alright Kai, if you really want to impress the inspector, you got to listen to me,” Chen says, sounding more serious.

*****

They make their way carefully in between huge shelves towards the center of the big library where the giant snake hybrid librarian silently reads her book. Chen leads the way and Kai follows.

_“There will be 1000 questions in the first written exam surrounding the history of the underworld, the hierarchy, spells, etc. You’ll only need to answer at least 666 correctly to pass the test.. To some cocky devil, it sounds easy, but it’s almost impossible for someone to exceed right away on their first try...”_

Chen takes a random book and pretending to read it as he spies on the librarian. She’s currently sitting behind her desk, one hand on the book while the other is grabbing tiny mice from a bowl for her to snack on. The librarian would be hissing whenever she heard someone being too noisy. Kai and Chen walk closer to the right-wing, silently reading the situation in front of them.

_“There’s a Cheat Book hidden in the librarian’s private room every year, available for those who are deemed worthy. The one who steals it first is the only person who can read it. The only rule is to not get caught by the serpent.”_

_“Have you ever find it?” Kai asks and Chen shakes his head “Managed to find it once with another teller. But he ditched me right after he gets a hold of it..” Chen confesses with a tinge of disappointment in his voice._

_“How’d you know I won’t do the same?”_

_“Nah. You would never.” Chen replies with a sincere smile. Kai clears his throat, feeling uncomfortable._

They can see someone from the left-wing trying to sneak their way towards the door hidden behind the giant body of the snake-hybrid. 

_“Then how do we find it?” Kai asks, feeling challenged. Chen leans closer to him while making sure nobody hears what he’s about to say “You will have to lure the snake out from their hiding first”_

With hasty movements, the lady on the other side nervously makes her way behind the librarian. Hoping that she can reach the door quick enough without drawing any attention, but when her shoes accidentally squeaks loudly on the floor and echoes around the room, she stops on her track.

“Rookie mistake.” Chen whispers, shaking his head.

The light from the high ceiling reflects on the librarian’s scaly skin as she moves her body towards the source of the noise, standing tall on her reptilian body and her shadow hovers over the shaking devil. The long tail of hers wraps around her slowly, and in split seconds her jaw opens to gulp down the smaller hell-being, silencing her scream. She burps loudly after she swallows.

“Holy shit. She’s dead??” Kai gasps

“Nah, she’ll poop her alive in a couple of days.” The sin-collector grimaces

“Ya know what, I think it’s alright if I bomb the test” Kai backs away before Chen pulls him forward with a snicker

“Come on man, the consequence might be unpleasant but not lethal. Let’s stick to the plan.”

Kai releases a sigh. This shit better works.

“I’ll be on the other side. If something goes bad, I’ll distract her so you can run.” Chen pats his back. Kai, once again baffled by the support, manages to nod at the other before the shorter male leaves.

The serpent continues reading her book, taking another handful of mice to munch on. It looks like the bowl is about to finish. Chen walks up to the front desk with a pile of random books.

“Hey, I was wondering if you have more books like this?” Kai can hear the teller says to the librarian in the distance. Positioning the pile of books to cover the bowl of mice from the serpent’s view. When the librarian wasn’t looking, he tilts the bowl and let the mice falls from the desk. He covers the noises with a loud cough. The serpent looked at him unamused.

“Sorry, caught troll’s flu after a night out..Ya know how wild it can be” he awkwardly chuckles.

Once the snake hybrid told him where to find similar books, Chen leaves the main desk. Kai sees this as his queue to start working on his part.

One of Kai’s strengths is his ability to manipulate reality and create a delusion. Not every sin-collector has this power. Have you ever heard the saying ‘Everything you can imagine is real’? Well, the heavens use imagination to boost human’s drive to be creative and innovative while devils like Kai use it to create chaos and sin. Greed and Gluttony are two particular sins that Kai can explore in this situation.

When the librarian starts roaming her hands on the empty bowl confusedly, Kai starts to project the manipulation to the floor. A mouse runs around the big area in the center of the library, making its way in front of the librarian. It caught her attention for a quick second. Her eyes watch the movement of the mouse; her body moves to follow. But just when Kai thought the librarian would chase it, she stops after the mice disappears into one of the bookshelves.

Kai sighs. He concentrates and gathers more energy. Slowly he starts projecting tens of fat mice to crawl outside the bookshelves and cabinets. The tiny footsteps and high-pitched squeak can only be heard by him and the individual he’s casting a spell on. And just like his plan, the manipulation peaks the serpent’s interest. She starts to glide her way outside her desk with a smile on her face, excited to catch the running mice.

The devil immediately bee-lines to the hidden door, his heart pumping like crazy.

When Kai opens the door, he’s greeted by a smaller space filled with bookshelves, cabinets, and a smaller desk. The place looks more like a study room. He makes his way around with pride but his happiness is short-lived when he realizes that someone is already there too.

A tall buff devil is rummaging through the shelves. He pauses his searching when he heard Kai enters the room. He has big ears and big eyes that makes him look innocent, but the muscles in his body say otherwise. The guy puts a finger right in front of his lips, gesturing Kai to stay silent before he turns his face away to continue looking for the Cheat Book. Not wanting to lose his chances to this big-eared hell being, Kai opens all the drawers from the opposite sides.

The devil spends a lot of time searching and he feels like giving up. If the other guy has also searched on the other side, and still found nothing _, is it because both of them are not worthy enough?_

After a while, it seems like the librarian finally realizes that none of the mice are actually edible. A loud angry hiss was heard from outside the room followed by someone’s familiar screaming. _Chen._

Kai moves quicker, looking at the upper book spines and the spaces in between. The other guy works faster too. When they almost meet in the middle, Kai notices a piece of grass flew from a book he accidentally pulls. He looks around confusedly. There’s no sign of green plants around them.

He follows his instinct and focuses his search on that area, frantically taking out all the books on that shelf. The other devil seems to notice his behavior and starts to work on the shelf beside it. Kai found another piece of grass on the higher rack.

When the area starts to clear from books, Kai notices that this particular shelf is deeper than the others. As he digs his way through the books, there in the middle he finds a nest full of snake eggs and a thick, glowing golden book. His heart pulses quicker.

The taller of the two reaches inside to grab the book, but Kai pushes the other devil’s face away with his hand as the other stretches for the prize.

“Fuck off! I found it first!” Kai yells

“But I got here first!” the other grunts

They push one and another, fighting embarrassingly like teenage human boys.

He can hear Chen muffled screaming from the outside “KAI!” before the entrance door slams open, revealing a very angry (and hungry) lady-serpent.

Both of the devil’s eyes bug out in panic. Kai pushes himself to reach deeper, and the tip of his fingers finally touches the edge of the nest. He drags it closer with his fingers.

“Sssstttt!” The hissing voice creeps closer

“Dude, please I don’t want to smell like snake’s poop!” the taller cries

“Who the hell wants to!” Kai yells back

The book is finally close enough for the sin-collector to take a strong grip on. He pulls it just in time as a familiar shadow hovers over him.

Just before he heard the other devil screams for his life, Kai snaps his fingers and teleports out of the room.

*****

“We fucking did it!” both of the 3-striper shouts with joy, jumping with their hands high up in the air like toddlers. Kai stops squealing once he realizes he’s not keeping his cool, but it seems like Chen doesn’t mind their rapidly-growing friendship.

“I know you’d get it! You’re like one of the greatest sin collectors I’ve met!” Chen says as he pats Kai’s shoulder and shoves him a glass of beer. The sin collector sits in one of the chairs.

They ran to Chen’s place after the nerve-wracking event at the library. The place looks like a studio apartment with minimal furniture inside the room. Kai is not sure how much does a teller usually makes, but he thought the job should be enough for Chen to live a bit more lavishly than this.

“I don’t want to waste my coins for furniture because I’m saving them for a new house. That is if I pass the test this year and leave this place..” The teller explains with a light chuckle

“So you take the test for a fancy house?

“well yeah, you can put it that way..” Chen sigh as he looks around, “I’ve been living in this flat for hundreds of years, I think I deserve something nicer and a less-boring job. Where do you live?” Chen says as he pours himself a drink.

“I don’t have a home.”

Chen looks confused, he knows the devil can afford to live somewhere decent. After a few seconds of silence, Kai opens his mouth again.

“Because my job requires me to constantly move, I don’t see the point in staying at one place. It’s not like I’m working to achieve something for my family before I die.” Kai chuckles. A hint of bitterness laced in the sentence.

He never got a hint about his past. He’s not even sure if he’s already born as a pure devil. Kai only memory was a lady—he forgot her name— taking him to the Misdeed Bank to sign him up as a sin collector. She told him the basics, how to teleport, how to survive living in the underworld, and how he should never trust anyone besides himself. Kai was a young devil at that time, probably 6 years-human-age old. After completing his first sin collection, she went away and Kai never saw her again. She left him feeling unwanted. He used to be cranky about it, grows out his horn and attacking anyone who asked about his ancestry. Somewhere along the line, he becomes fine with the idea of 'destined to live alone'

“Why are you so kind to me?” Kai blatantly asks in suspicion as he sips his beer.

Chen laughs whole-heartedly.

“I’m not trying to sway you, kiddo. I’ve lived here long enough to know that this place is shitty and I think you’re not that bad to be a friend.” Kai gives him a disgusted look and Chen laughs some more. “Plus, I hate feeling alone, it reminds me of earth.”

“You were a human?”

“A bad one,” Chen snickers before he continues “I worked in finance and my sin starts from stealing small funds to forging important documents. I thought with all my money, I’d be fine when my family left me. Turns out it made me feel so shitty. I got killed by one of my clients who turned out to be a mafia member. True story.” Chen lifts his glass towards Kai.

“So, since it’s clear now that I’m not planning to bang you anytime soon, can we start checking out the book, my friend?” 

As usual, the teller sounds very sincere so this time Kai didn’t’ push him away. He lets out a relieved sigh and nods. Maybe it isn’t going to be so bad to have a friend.

******

They spend the next day studying together. Kai reads for Chen since the latter couldn’t read anything from the book. While the taller sees handwritten texts with drawings for explanations, Chen only sees blank pages. But thanks to the other’s previous experiences, Kai gets to ask Chen the things he’s not familiar with.

From spells to history, rules, and hierarchy— they cover it all meticulously. Surprised by the sudden knowledge he’s getting in a span of two days; Kai is excited to try the new tricks he learned, especially the spells. So in between study sessions, both of them would go out in public to test it out and mess around with other hell-beings. At the end of each lesson, Kai feels more and more powerful.

Though it’s hard for the devil to admit it, he’s enjoying the learning process with his new friend so much. And before they know it, the day of the First Test has come.

Hell-beings entered the arena ground and take their designated seats. Some of them look nervous, and some of them look at ease. Kai came in with a proud smile, knowing well he’s going to ace the test. His seat is pretty upfront near the stage. The devil glances at Chen who seats a bit further away from him, the guy sends a tiny wave, looking cheerful as ever.

A familiar weird smell assaults Kai’s nostrils and when he turns his head to search for the source, he sees a pair of brooding eyes looking straight at him. _It’s the guy from the library._ Seems like he literally just got back from being a snake's snack and doesn't mind disturbing his surroundings with the pungent smell oozing out of his body. Kai holds back his snort and turns his body to face forward.

As everyone settles on their seats, the inspector enters the arena ground, and the gate close. All 7 of them line up in the small stage in the front, together with Sehun, the host.

When he sees the person responsible for the change in his life, he smiles. Kyungsoo wears a bloody-red suit today, which compliments his plump pink lips. The fallen-angel caught him staring and sends him a wicked smile.

“Welcome hell-beings!” the host exclaims, “Today, the first Annual Underworld Exam test will be held. There will be 1000 questions waiting for your answer, and amongst all of you, we will choose only 666 beings with the highest score to enter the next round.”

Sehun claps his hand and a giant hourglass appears, hovering above them. A stack of brown envelopes floats around the room, flying to every participant’s respective tables. The question sheets are placed inside, sealed with shimmering gold wax. Under a minute, everyone received their envelopes.

“Remember, you’re allowed to cheat, but you’re not allowed to get caught” Sehun chuckles, “You have 5 hours to finish. And you may start, NOW!”

Sound of paper rustling echoes in the arena. Kai immediately opens his envelope and a thick stack of paper welcomes him. All of them are multiple-choice questions.

He snaps his finger and a pen appears in between his fingers. He quickly fills in his answers.

Every time he flips a page, he feels relieved. He would never know the answer to these questions if it isn’t for the cheat book. He is too busy focusing to the point that he didn’t realize the stranger beside him is already sitting on the edge of their seat, trying to get a peek at Kai’s paper.

It’s only when he hears a loud ‘poof’ and a yell did he snap his head to the right then up to the sky. The cheating stranger was blasted out of the arena. There’s a sound of a laughing crowd from the inspector stage, and there he sees Xiumin, with his fingers still pointing in the direction of the ejected participant.

Kai lowers his head and continues to work on his paper, hoping that he will not be eliminated from the exam.

The devil had no problem answering questions about spells and human behavior, but he starts to struggle on the 700th question— Sin Accounting. They didn’t get to learn much about it since Kai was too excited learning about other less-boring subjects and Chen already knows all about accounting. He feels a sense of regret not putting a lot more effort into it.

The thought surprises him. He couldn’t believe he _wishes_ to be better. Seems like these three days have changed him more than he realizes.

He has only around one hour left to finish 300 questions. He looks around with slight panic, thinking of a way to get Chen’s help. But he doesn’t want to risk it. So he skips a few pages and moves on to the next section: Hierarchy.

The topic isn’t difficult for him. Most of the questions are the basic rules of the underworld, who’s in charge in each zones, where to go to report certain sins, and filling the actual royalties ‘family tree’. So he ticks the answers easily one by one..

But one particular question stops him:

_“Who is Dolos— The God of Deception’s— last forgotten son?_

  1. ἄτη
  2. Veles
  3. Loki
  4. 开



Just as the devil trying to recall a page in the cheat book, the hourglass pops off.

“Time’s Up!” Sehun shouts, and immediately all the papers swooshes away from their table and goes straight to the inspector’s stage. Some of the crowd sighs, but most of them groans in protest. The inspectors goes to work and uses their power to check on the answer paper as Sehun talks to the crowd.

“My father used to tell me “Work hard and play harder.. unless you’re a member of the royalty, of course working hard is a waste of time!” Sehun laughs at his own joke and the crowd follows awkwardly, “But today’s event, seeing your hard work has made me want to do a nice thing for once.” Everyone in the arena starts to listen attentively.

“So, for every top 100 participants who gets the highest score.. will be granted to join me in the first after-party tonight, at the 4 and 5-striper only SIN-V Club!” The Prince of Greed exclaims.

The crowd roars and cheers, clapping their hands like seals. Kai searches for Chen, and seeing how wide the teller’s eyes go, it seems like this is the first time the council throws them this type of gift. Kai cheers inside his heart, this could be his shot to finally talk to Kyungsoo again.

“OH SEHUN! OH SEHUN! OH SEHUN!” they all chant in sync as the prince lifts his hand, clearly eating up all the praise.

Lay collects small papers from the other inspectors, then moves forward to hand them to Sehun.

“The results are in!” he shouts, and the crowd goes silent. The pale prince balls up the paper in his hands, crumbles it until it turns into silver dust, and throws it up in the air to project it so everyone can see the rankings.

Kai’s tilts his head and his heart beats so fast as he searches for his name on the list.. one person yells happily at the back of his head.. another one follows…

40..

50..

“#61, BABY!!!” The snake-poop boy growls with pride.

‘Chanyeol= 820 points’ it reads, Kai sighs and continues to scan the list thoroughly..

70 _.. Nothing yet.._

80.. _Probably on the next row.._

90…

****

**_102: KAI = 780 points_ **

His shoulder sags in disappointment. But that’s alright.. at least he’s still in the game. He can settle with #102. The list goes up until thousands anyways.

But when he glances to Chen’s direction, the teller punches his fist up in the air, looking ecstatic. Kai reads the list again and finds his study-partner gets in number #21 and this got him bitter.

The Top 100 participants are asked to go and confirm their identities to the inspectors in the front and submit their names for the exclusive after-party. Kai really thought things couldn't get any shittier. But he thought wrong.

Chanyeol was already up front, giggling happily as he registers his name to claim his prize. The buff devil is shamelessly flirting while talking to Kyungsoo.

Kai's expression is stoic, but he can feel a pair of horns start to grow slowly out of the sides of his head.

For the first time in his conscious life-time, KAI gets angry for not winning.

******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was it? Did you have fun reading it? I do realize there's a lot of new information in this chapter but I hope it's not too confusing to comprehend! Please let me know your thoughts and opinion about the story so far in the comment box below, or you can hit me up on twitter @amorkaisoo! 
> 
> I definitely will finish this fic, and I hope you'll be patient enough to wait for the update hihi :) Thank you for reading fwends! Please stay safe and stay healthy~ <3


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